Neurology
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Migraine and epilepsy are 2 of the most common neurologic disorders in children. In this cross-sectional study we investigated a population of children with epilepsy to determine if children with a greater seizure burden or certain epilepsy syndromes had a higher risk of migraines. We also examined how often migraine is addressed and treated in a pediatric epilepsy cohort. ⋯ Migraine was comorbid in one-quarter of children with epilepsy in a tertiary care center. Children who were older or who had BECTS or JME were more likely to have migraines. Migraines were infrequently addressed within the neurology clinic. It is imperative to address comorbid migraine in treating children with epilepsy.
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Tactile dysfunction in chronic pain is explained as disruption in somatotopically based processing of stimuli. We hypothesized that people with chronic back pain also demonstrate a spatially defined disruption of tactile processing. ⋯ Spatial representation of vibrotactile stimuli is disrupted in chronic unilateral back pain.
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Efficacy of thrombolytic therapy for ischemic stroke decreases with time elapsed from symptom onset. We analyzed the effect of interventions aimed to reduce treatment delays in our single-center observational series. ⋯ With multiple concurrent strategies it is possible to cut the median in-hospital delay to 20 minutes. The key is to do as little as possible after the patient has arrived at the emergency room and as much as possible before that, while the patient is being transported.
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The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of the Neurological Depressive Disorders Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E) and the depression component of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS-D) for identifying depression and suicide risk in adults with epilepsy. ⋯ In clinical practice, it is essential that screening measures have the highest possible sensitivity values to limit the chances of false-negative results. In accordance with these guidelines, the NDDI-E was a superior screening measure compared with the HADS-D. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the NDDI-E for identifying both major and minor depression and serious suicide risk. The poor sensitivity of the HADS-D suggests that it should not be used as a screen for depression or suicidality in adults with epilepsy.